theodoe steinway



(No Model.)

0. P. T. STEINWAY. Piano Forte Hammer.

Patented Aug. 24,1880.

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFrIcE.

O. F. THEODOR STEINWAY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIANO-FORTE HAMMER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 231,629, dated August 24, 1880.

Application filed March 10, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, O. F. THEODOR STEIN- WAY, of the city and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Piano-Forte Hammers, of which the following is a specification.

My improvements relate to the class of devices which are employed to effect the tight lateral compression of the felt body of pianoforte hammers for the purpose of stiffening the felt body and preventing it from yieldin g outwardly on either side when the end of the hammer stiikes the string; and my invention consists in the employment of a ligature extending transversely through the wider portion of the felt body after the same has been bent around the top of the wooden head of the hammer and fastened to the sides thereof.

By my invention thehammer is not altered in appearance, and is not materially increased in weight, yet by my ligature the laterally ontward yieldingof the feltcovering is prevented, additional stability is given to the mass of felt, and its ability to resist the effect of blows upon its curved end is increased, and the curved end or striking point of the felt body of the hammer is more permanently preserved in its original shape.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a piano-forte hammer composed of a crossbar of wood tapering at one end, over which the block of woolen felt has been stretched, and to the sides of which it is fastened. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the hammer through the line at .r on Fig. 1, showing the position of my wire ligature for laterally compressing the felt covering. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the edge of the hammer, showing the twisted ends of the wire of which the ligature is composed. Fig. 4 is a view of the ligature, showing its shape prior to insertion through the hammer.

The drawings represent the tapering end A of the wooden cross-bar of a hallo-hammer, over which the block of woolen felt B has been stretched, and to the sides of which the ends I) have been glued, and to which the felt covering has been additionally secured near the ends by the transverse wire ligature Z), the direction of which is indicated by the dotted line b on Fig. l.

The wider portion of the felt covering is tightly compressed by means of the wire ligature (J, the two parallel legs of which, it will be seen, pass transversely through two transverse perforations in the tip a of the wooden cross-bar and two corresponding perforations in the felt covering, and at their ends are formed into the tight twistc, which is bent closely down upon the surface of the felt covering. The compressing effect produced by the ligature upon the felt covering is arbitrarily represented by the relative distances apart of the different portions of the curved linesl) in Fig. 1. The result of this application of the ligature is the excessive compacting and stiffening in a lateral direction of the central portion of the felt covering, better enabling the feltto resist the tendency to alteration in shape which is observable in felt-covered hammers of the ordinary construction.

The ligature G, prior to its insertion, is simply a staple with parallel legs made of suitably strong and soft wire.

in applying the ligature parallel holes are pierced transversely through the felt, and preferably through the top of the wooden crossbar, into which the two legs of the ligature are respectively thrust. The felt covering is then compressed or squeezed transversely, either by hand or in any convenient way, aml the ends ofthe legs of the staple tightly twisted and turned down, as shown.

It will, of course, be understood that a variety of devices may be substituted in place of the ligature for laterally compressing the felt covering, and that the ligature, instead of being inserted through the mass of felt, may be bent around the exterior thereof; but the mode of applying the ligature which I have shown is that which I prefer as being simple, inexpensive, and elfective.

I claim as my invention- 1. Apiano-forte hammer provided with a compressing-ligature extending transversely through the wider portion of the felt body and tightly strained, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. in a piano-forte hammer, the combination of the felt body B and the tip a of the wooden cross-bar with the compressing-ligature O, substantially as described.

0. F. THEODOR STEIN WAY.

Witnesses:

M. L. ADAMS, Geo. W. Mmrr. 

